So Mote It Be
by Time Lady Kate
Summary: Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy are in a tough situation. Being the few remaining survivors of Voldemort's terror, they have a choice to make. Go back in time to fix it all, or stay and, subsequently, be killed. How will they defeat the Dark Lord? ON HIATUS
1. Going Back?

Hermione perched on the window seat, her eyes scanning the ancient, dusty book in front of her. Loud noises could be heard in the distance, thumping and the sound of heavy footfalls. The chamber door burst opened, then slammed shut by a blond boy. He waved his hand and the door was quickly covered in shimmering blue lights before they faded. Loud knocking and kicking could be heard on the other side of the mahogany door.

"Hurry up, Hermione," the boy twittered, nervously. "We haven't got much time left."

"Hush, Draco," Hermione said as she flipped to the next chapter in her book. Draco sighed and started to pace the small room. His blond hair was messy and unmanageable, pieces straying in all directions. He ran a hand through it to try and flatten it. Draco's pale complexion accentuated his eyes, a bright silver, but they looked tired. Tired and weary and ready to give up.

A loud banging noise pierced the air and echoed throughout the room.

"Hermione," Draco pleaded.

Said girl ignored him.

Hermione slammed the book shut with a loud thud and let out a victorious cry. "Found it!" Hermione paused, staring at Draco.

"What is it?" Draco asked, wringing his hands.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Hermione asked, her voice shaking. "The results could be catastrophic. We could end up in a whole other dimension, just floating."

"I'm sure," Draco nodded. "Are you?"

"No," Hermione said. She let out a small laugh. "Hell no. But what choice do we have?"

"Uh, none?" Draco said with a quirk of his lips. "Ready?"

"No," Hermione repeated. "But let's do it."

"All right," Draco said, he ran a hand through his hair again. "Give it a go. Have your wand?"

Hermione patted her sleeve.

"Right here, but this spell doesn't require a wand."

"All right, what are we waiting for then?" Draco said.

Hermione laughed. "A reason _not_ to do this." Draco chuckled.

"Come on, Granger, use that Gryffindor bravery."

"You mean stupidity?" Hermione flashed him a smile and then held out her hands, palms up. Draco placed his hands under on top of hers, palms up.

And so the ritual began.

Moving her hands in large circles, Hermione brought out her magic. It was swirling around her; gold and silver, black and blue, green and red. Draco stared at Hermione as she closed her eyes and tilted her head up to the ceiling. The banging from the other side of the door got louder and louder, almost like a drum.

"Hear me, Goddess of Time, allow us to go back. Keep us safe from these men. Allow us to go back. When this is succeed a sacrifice will be made in your honor. We thank you." Hermione said, her eyes became glowing golden orbs, unseeing.

"Audi Deae tempus redire liceat. Tutelae istis. Nos sinat retro. Hoc est sacrificium fieri succedere in honore tuo. Benedicimus te." She said, repeating the words in Latin.

"So mote it be," Hermione muttered.

Those four words sealed their fate. A glow emitted from her body, it wrapped her and Draco in a cocoon and just as the door slammed open, revealing five or six Death Eaters, they vanished.


	2. Help from the Headmaster

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I wish I did, then I'd be rich but no such luck.

oOo

Hermione and Draco landed with an audible _thunk_ on a cold stone floor. Hermione's chocolate brown hair sprawled out and Draco's leg landed underneath her. They rolled on the floor groaning in pain.

"My arse," Draco moaned. "Oh my arse. I think it's gonna bruise!"

"Shut your pale arse up!" Hermione chided. "We're both hurting here!" She pushed Draco's leg off of her and rolled onto her back.

"Where are we?" Draco asked sitting up. The room they were in was fairly sized and tables were pushed up against the wall.

"A classroom?" Hermione suggested.

"Quite right, my dear," a voice said. Hermione and Draco spun around to find who belonged to the voice. "You are in Hogwarts."

Hermione's eyes landed on a misty, white figure with a partially severed head.

"Sir Nicholas!" Hermione breathed as she stood up, her muscles sore.

"You know who I am, yet I have not seen you here before," Sir Nicholas said with a quirked eyebrow. "May I ask your names?"

"Hermione."

"Draco."

"Ah," Sir Nicholas said. "Now, what is your business here?"

"We're here to see the Headmaster," Draco said in his usual drawl. Sir Nicholas nodded.

"Very well then, follow me." Sir Nicholas floated through the door and Hermione and Draco followed. They followed the ghost through the quiet stone hallways until they reached the gargoyle that protected the Headmaster's office.

"I do not know the password," Sir Nicholas said in a bored voice, "so I would expect to be waiting for a while."

"Thank you anyway, Sir Nicholas," Draco said as the ghost floated away.

"What do you think the password is?" Hermione asked, she ran a hand through her curls and let out a sigh.

"Just try the usual," Draco suggested. "Candy passwords."

"Sherbert Lemon?"

"Fizzing Wizzbees?"

"Fizzy WIzzy?"

"Chocolate Frog?"

"Cauldron Cake?" As these words left Draco's mouth, the gargoyle twisted to reveal the climbing stone stairs.

"Come on," Hermione said and tugged Draco up the stairs only to stop at a large oak door.

"Here goes nothing," Hermione muttered and knocked on the door. Once, twice and a third time, before the usual "Come in!" was heard from the other side. With a deep breath, in hopes of steadying their nerves, the two students walked into the overcrowded office.

Knick knacks were piled on all the cabinets and the cupboards were overflowing with dusty books and parchment. The mahogany desk in the back of the room was flooded with letters, spare parchment and important paperwork. Dumbledore sat in his usual high, padded chair; his spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose. As always his blue eyes twinkled merrily.

This sight brought comfort to the two time travelers and they were suddenly flooded with an overwhelming feeling of homesickness.

"Headmaster," Hermione said as she and Draco walked up to the desk.

"That is I," Dumbledore said with a slight smile, which then turned into a frown. "But I do not recognize either of you."

"Pardon us, Headmaster," Hermione said as she and Draco sat in the armchair in front of his desk. "I am Hermione Granger and this is-"

"Draco Malfoy," Draco interrupted causing Hermione to shoot him a glare.

"Malfoy? Related in anyway to Lucius Malfoy?" Dumbledore pondered aloud.

"Yes," Draco sighed, "he would be my father."

"Father?!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "How? Mister Malfoy just graduated Hogwarts last year. You look to be a seventh year!"

"Headmaster," Hermione said, gaining Dumbledore's attention. "Do you have your pensieve?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said. He was beginning to become suspicious of these two children. They were very vague and knew he had a pensieve. Why, nobody knew he had one! "Why?"

"We would like to show you our memories, sir," Hermione said, swallowing nervously. In truth, she had no clue how the Headmaster would react. She was hoping he could let them finish their Seventh Year at Hogwarts and join the Order.

Dumbledore nodded mutely and waved his wand. From the large cabinet behind the two time travelers, a large bowl filled with silvery liquid, which was sloshing around, floated towards them and hovered feet off the ground. Draco and Hermione glanced at each other and nodded, before pushing the tips of their wands to their temples. The two concentrated on the certain memories they needed to show Dumbledore. His death, Harry's importance in the future, the huge battle that almost destroyed Hogwarts, Harry's limp body, strewn among the other thousand corpses of Death Eaters and Order members alike. The terror Voldemort caused by almost winning that battle, but somehow escaping. How every Order member, Hogwarts teacher, and muggleborn was hunted down by the Death Eaters to be captured, tortured endlessly, and then killed in the most gruesome way. Their wands soon held the dangling silvery wisps of horrible memories, which they dropped into the pensieve. They had to do this several times before they had all the terrifying memories in the large grey bowl.

"Sir," Hermione muttered through her emotions. She had just relived those memories as she took them from her head. "These memories are very important, they will explain everything. It's imperative that they are removed immediately after use and destroyed."

"Of course, of course," Dumbledore said. He thought the child was being overly dramatic and would humor her and her companion. The Headmaster stood, reached into his robes and gathered his wand before placing the tip into the murky, silver liquid that held the memories. As Dumbledore's mind was transported elsewhere, Hermione and Draco sat in nervous, tension filled silence.

Half and hour passed before Dumbledore's glazed, far away eyes blinked, and his body turned to stare at the two children in front of him. No, they weren't children. They were survivors of a war. They were soldiers, trained and prepared with experience.

Sighing, Dumbledore sat back down at his desk and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"So, you're from the future?" Dumbledore asked, trying to comprehend it all.

"Yes," Hermione said with a solemn nod. "What year is it, if I may?"

"1978," Dumbledore said and both Hermione and Draco looked horrified.

"Is-is James P-Potter in this years graduating class?" Hermione asked, stuttering from her shot nerves.

"Why, yes," Dumbledore said. "Oh, dear me." Dumbledore sat in thought for a moment. "You both plan on changing the future, don't you?"

Hermione and Draco nodded.

"Well then, I see no problem with explaining to Mister Potter and his gang of misfits why you're here, though it would do so to wait sometime and gain their trust. They won't believe a stranger."

"You mean we can stay?!" Hermione beamed. "Draco, we get to finish school!"

Draco chuckled at Hermione's enthusiasm for her school work.

"Of course you can stay, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, rather pleased at the outburst.

"Now, we must sort you both. I understand you had been previously sorted in the future, but things may have changed." Dumbledore stood and grabbed the old, torn, and dusty Sorting Hat off of the high shelf. "Ladies first, Miss Granger."

Hermione excitedly stepped forward and let Dumbledore place the old hat on her head.

 _Ah, Miss Granger, so many memories. Horrifying ones at that, but daring and courageous. But then there's your thirst of knowledge, such a Ravenclaw trait. Hmmm yes, you would do well where you were. You belong in_ GRYFFINDOR!

Draco rolled his eyes. "I saw that one coming."

"Mister Malfoy, if you please," Dumbledore said and gestured for him to stand. Hermione sat down in her chair, never once the grin plastered on her face slip. As the Sorting Hat lowered on his head, it didn't shout SLYTHERIN as it had before.

 _Oh my. This will be a tough one. There's your cunning. You're a clever boy, Draco Malfoy. But then I see your loyalty to the ones you love. How much you have sacrificed. Your hunger for knowledge is outstanding! But I must confess, you are very hard to place. Ah! I see it now! Your bravery out shines all. You belong in_ GRYFFINDOR!

Draco's jaw dropped. Gryffindor? Surely it was mistaken! He wasn't brave, not like Hermione or Potter. He was sly and cunning!

 _I do not make mistakes, young Malfoy. You were placed previously in Slytherin due to your want to prove yourself to your father. I had simply placed you where you wanted to go._

Dumbledore removed the hat before it was able to say anything else, but Draco had gotten the gist. He had always belonged in Gryffindor.

"I had _not_ seen that one coming!" Hermione said as she giggled.

"Neither had I!" Draco exclaimed happily. In truth, he was very relieved not to be separated from his companion.

"Now," Dumbledore said, gaining the attention of his two new students. "You will have uniforms waiting on your beds, along with trunks. We always manage to keep extra supplies and clothes for special situations. By the time you get to the Gryffindor common room, they should be waiting for you. School has already started, but luckily it is only two weeks into the term. You will receive your timetables at breakfast tomorrow. I assume you wish to take the same classes?" Both students nodded. "Good, but first, before you leave, what do you wish to do once you're out of school?"

Draco and Hermione glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Honestly, Headmaster, we haven't thought that far ahead." Hermione said.

"For us, we were mostly focused on the war." Draco added.

"Well, maybe teaching or working in the Ministry?" Hermione suggested.

"Now that I think about it, possibly teaching or working as an Auror." Draco contemplated.

"Perfect! They require about the same classes." Dumbledore paused to jot down notes before he looked back up. "Do either of you wish to take Divinations?"

"No!" Hermione said rather quickly. "Sorry, sir, it's just, it's not my cup of tea."

"Mine either!" Draco said, making a disgusted face.

Dumbledore chuckled. "There's one more thing before you leave, your last name, Draco. We can't have you running around as a Malfoy."

"I have already given it some thought," Draco admitted. "I was think of using Moreau."

"Draco Moreau? It suits you," Hermione said, testing out the name

"All right, now that's settled, I assume you know where Gryffindor Tower is?" They nodded. "Very well, the password is 'Pygmy Puff,' now off you to go, You have a big day ahead!"

"Thank you Headmaster!" Hermione called as the two time travelers exited Dumbledore's office.

A/N: I just want to thank you all for reading this!


	3. Meeting New People

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, sadly.

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading! Enjoy!

oOo

The large stone staircases shifted as Hermione and Draco climbed them, up to Gryffindor Tower. They had been relatively quiet on the walk to the Tower, as they both were extremely nervous. For Draco, he wondered what it would be like a Gryffindor. Maybe, this time, he'd make true friends. Crabbe and Goyle were never his real friends, just Slytherin lackeys that followed him around. Blaise Zabini, on the other hand, had been a true friend. The two had been inseparable since childhood, but when The Dark Lord rose and Draco's father expected him to take the Mark, things got rocky. Blaise's family stayed neutral, having an easy time with whatever outcome of the war. It was up until Blaise's murder in sixth year that Draco felt he _had_ to take the Mark, if only to make his father proud. It was then, when he saw his best friend laying on the cold stone Hogwarts floor, when he went to the Headmaster and pleaded for help and he had received it. Dumbledore had him join the Order and protected him from his Death Eater father. It was difficult at first, he had never really gotten along with anybody that was living in that house at the time but he had changed a lot and soon befriended Hermione. Draco never really got along with Harry, only having civil conversations for Hermione's sake. Ron on the other hand, hadn't taken it in stride.

When all seemed lost, Ron had proven just how much of a coward he really was. He abandoned Hermione and Harry. Weeks later he was found, dead, the offending Dark Mark branded on his forearm. Madame Pomfrey had examined it and declared it had been there weeks before he had left. There was no irritation or bruising caused by receiving the Mark. Of course, this had been all underwraps, only the Weasley clan and all members of the Order of the Phoenix knew of Ron's betrayal. Hermione had been heartbroken, wondering what in the name of Merlin had caused Ron to change sides. Draco suspected it was Harry. Harry had everything the Weasel wanted: fame, power, money, and Amelie Delacour. Amelie was Fleur's cousin who was eighteen years old while Harry was seventeen. Amelie had long curly silver-blonde hair, stunning blue eyes and a bright smile. It was obvious she was part Veela. She had come to visit the summer before sixth year along with her parents and Gabrielle Delacour. Harry and Amelie had hit it off immediately. It was only a few weeks later that he had asked her out on a date. She had said yes. By the time they had to return to school, the two were inseparable. By seventh year, the two were still dating and were going strong. Ron was obviously a little jealous, one could tell by the glaring and scoffing he often made, but he never voiced his opinion on the matter. But the hunt for the horcruxes was afoot and they had to leave each other behind.

The night before the final battle, Harry proposed. It was the most perfect moment for the two and Amelie had quickly said yes. Sadly, Harry didn't make it through the final battle. Amelie was heartbroken. She locked herself away in her apartment before emerging three weeks later. She didn't last long though. Combined with the traumatic experience of losing her fiance and her parents deaths, Amelie had gotten risky and on a raid, she had been killed.

Draco glanced at Hermione as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. She was nervously biting her lip and pushing her hair out of her face.

"Password?" The Fat Lady drawled.

"Pygmy Puff," Draco said with a grimace. He didn't enjoy the fluffy passwords. Slytherin passwords would be something more noble like, House of Pride or a latin phrase such as _tantum fortissimus superesse_ ; only the strongest survive.

The portrait swung open to reveal an almost empty common room. It was decorated in red and gold, the main color being red. A group of boys were the only other students in the room and they looked up curiously at the outsiders.

"Hey!" A boy with black hair and glasses yelled and stood up. "What are you doing here?"

"We haven't seen you here before," a meek voice stated. He was a mousy boy with sandy hair and a long nose.

"We're the new students." Hermione stated as she glanced at the group of boys.

"New students?" another boy said. He had shaggy black hair with large grey eyes. "Dumbledore didn't mention anything about new students."

"Yeah, well, here we are," Draco said sarcastically and Hermione nudged him. The shaggy black haired boy squinted at him while the boy with glasses glared.

"You look like Malfoy," the one with glasses commented.

"Not likely! Anybody related to Malfoy belongs in Slytherin," the boy with shaggy hair stated. Before Hermione could say anything on the stereotypical comment Draco started talking.

"Nah, I'm Draco Moreau," he said in his usual drawl, "and this is Hermione Granger."

"I'm James Potter," the one with glasses said. "This lot calls me Prongs, I'm the best looking man at this school and captain of the Quidditch team." James stood and bowed before throwing himself down again.

"I'm Sirius Black, and don't mind Jamesie here, he _thinks_ he's the best looking lad at the school, but in reality it is I. I'm a prankster extraordinaire and these loons call me Padfoot." Sirius said and blew Hermione a kiss. "And I'm rather good with the ladies."

"I'm Peter Pettigrew," the mousy haired boy said. "They call me Wormtail." Hermione faked a smile.

"I'm Remus Lupin," the last boy said. He was rather tall, pale and extremely thin looking. He had dark green eyes and a wide, but fairly small, nose. "Don't mind these lot, they're loons, they belong in the madhouse."

Hermione laughed and smiled at the lycan.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Hermione said with a dazzling smile.

"What school did you attend before coming here?" Sirius asked, his grey eyes studying Hermione.

Hermione froze. They hadn't had a chance to go over the details. Luckily, it was Draco's quick thinking that got them out of the situation.

"Hermione here went to Beauxbatons and I went to Durmstrang," Draco said rather quickly. He took a breath then continued.

"Then how do you know each other if you went to different schools?" James asked, leaning on his knees.

"We have been friends for a long time, practically since birth. Over the summers we could visit each other, but we didn't get to talk as much during the school year," Hermione explained, thinking quickly.

"Why'd you decided to come to Hogwarts?" Peter asked between mouthfuls of chocolate. Hermione grimaced.

"I wanted to leave Durmstrang because of all the Dark Magic, it's really not my thing," Draco said. "Hermione here tolerated Beauxbatons, but always wanted to come to Hogwarts. So with a little convincing the parents we were able to enroll here."

Remus studied the two in front of him. Something was off, he could tell. They were lying and he knew, but about what? He could tell they were not a threat, but he didn't know what to make of the lying. Remus' werewolf senses could tell when someone held fear, hope and almost all the other emotions.

"Durmstrang," Sirius scoffed. "My parents wanted me to go there when I was sorted into Gryffindor." He shook his head. "Uncle Alphard managed to convinced them otherwise."

"I never knew that," James said with a frown. Both boys seemed lost in their own thoughts, forgetting about the new students.

"I didn't want you to worry," Sirius muttered quietly, but everybody heard him. Suddenly, James lunged at Sirius and entrapped him in a bear hug.

"Don't ever not tell me stuff like that! Do you understand, Padfoot?" James said through his whirlwind of emotions. Just the thought of losing his best friends, no, his _brother_ was too much for him. Sirius nodded.

"Is this a regular thing?" Hermione asked.

"Just about," Remus replied with a grin.

The portal swung open and a girl walked in. She was dressed in a pressed uniform, no wrinkles with a Head Girl badge pinned to her chest. Her dark red hair cascaded down her shoulders and her bright emerald green eyes made Hermione gasp. It wasn't a loud gasp, only Remus could of heard her. James let go of Sirius quickly and stood up.

"Lily-flower!" James exclaimed excitedly. Lily, however, did not look pleased. Fire blazed in those emerald green eyes and her hair gained extra volume from the magic she was emitting.

"Don't. Call. Me. _Lily-flower_ ," Lily snapped at him.

"What's wrong, Evans?" James asked stepping forward to try and comfort the angry witch.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?!" Lily screeched. "I'll tell you what's wrong! You! You're what's wrong, you bloody arse!"

"What'd I do?" James asked in a quiet voice.

"You mean you don't know?" Lily said in a quieter voice. It wasn't a normal tone, but it certainly was quieter than before. "You humiliated Severus!"

"Oh, that," James said. He scoffed as if it wasn't a big deal. "It was just a bit of fun."

"Fun?!" Lily said angrily. "You call hanging someone upside down _from the ceiling_ , fun?!"

"Well, yeah," Sirius butted in and received a glare from Lily.

"The git deserved it," James said with a shrug. Obviously, that was the stupidest thing to say, so Lily swung her hand back and let it rip. Her fist hit James right in the lip, cutting it, and causing it to bleed, albeit not much.

"You gormless toe-rag!" Lily screeched and stormed out of the common room.

"Well, that was entertaining," Draco drawled. "Does that happen regularly?"

Sirius hummed. "Usually. Prongs here has been trying to get a date with the lovely Lily Evans but she always says no."

"I've tried everything!" James whined. "I've given her flowers, jewelry, everything!"

"Have you tried being nice to, oh, who was it?" Hermione said, turning to Draco and snapping her fingers in thought. "Severus! That's who she said."

"Why would I be nice to him? He's a git. He's up to his eyes in Dark Magic." James sneered.

"While that may be true. But, what I gathered from that conversation is that Lily doesn't find it very funny when James humiliate Severus. Who is Severus?"

"Severus Snape," Sirius said with a sneer worthy of a Slytherin. "He's a Slytherin, you don't want to go making friends with them, they're horrible people. Snape's a Seventh Year and overly interested in the Dark Magic."

"Why do you pick on him then?" Hermione inquired.

James looked at Hermione with steely eyes. "He practices Dark Magic, why _wouldn't_ I?"

Hermione shook her head. Boys, they were utterly stupid.

"Well, I'll help you get a date with her." Hermione said. James instantly perked up and gave Hermione a huge smile.

"You will?" His voice sounded full of hope. Hermione nodded.

"I'll do my best." Hermione replied looking at the raven haired hopeful boy with a genuine smile.

"Oh, thank you!" James said and lunged to give Hermione a rather large hug. Sirius rolled his eyes and Draco snorted a laugh. Gryffindors, so bloody emotional.


	4. Advice and Meeting A Slytherin

**A/N:** All right, so I posted a new chapter this morning and it was just brought to my attention about a formatting error, thank you HaveManners! So I took down the chapter and fixed it. If you see any more errors please message me.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. They belong to Queen Rowling.

* * *

Hermione and Draco had settled in wonderfully as the new Gryffindor students. The Marauders were slowly becoming friendlier with them, but it was taking some time. James had continued to pester Hermione about getting help for a date to Hogsmeade from his lovely _Lily-flower._

"First of all, James, you have to stop calling her 'Lily-flower,'" Hermione said. Hermione and Draco had been at Hogwarts for a few weeks now and were steadily closer to the other Gryffindors.

"Why?" James asked. "Don't all boyfriends give their girlfriends a pet name?"

"Some," Hermione sighed. She ran a hand through her hair. This was going to be tough. "But James, you aren't her boyfriend. Plus, it's obvious the 'pet name' only irritates her."

"All right," James said with a frown. The two students were currently sitting under one of the large oak trees in the shade by the Black Lake on a rather warm day. They both had studying things sprawled out in front of them. Well, Hermione did, James, on the other hand, had one of his _many_ pranking books in hand.

"What would you usually call her?"

"Evans," James said with a fond smile.

"Start calling her Lily, you don't date a girl you're on a last name basis with," Hermione suggested. James ran a hand through his tousled raven hair and sighed. He nodded.

"How would I ask her out?" James asked, thinking hard of the ways he could potentially impress Lily.

"Don't." Hermione said, picking at the grass.

"What do you mean, don't?" James snapped. "I have to ask her out for her to become my boyfriend don't I?"

"Yes," Hermione said, "but, I have spent time with Lily. She thinks you're an egotistical, immature, toe-rag that has no morals."

"What?" James asked, pulling his head up to look at Hermione with wide eyes.

"In my opinion," Hermione continued acting as if he hadn't spoken, "you should start out small, becoming friends. Then after time, ask her out. Nothing showy, she's not that kind of girl, just you being yourself."

"But it will take forever!" James whined and Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

"You'll also have to stop bulling Severus," Hermione pointed out.

"Why?"

"Lily sees Severus as a friend, you hurt her friend, she's not going to like you very much." Hermione explained with a sigh.

"But-"

"If you want to date Lily, then that's how it's gonna go down." Hermione said with a smirk and turned to her homework. A three foot essay on the Goblin Revolt of 1888, was Binns trying to kill her?

oOo

"Hey, Hermione!" Remus yelled from across the Gryffindor common room. "Come here for a 'sec!"

Hermione sighed and slammed her book shut.

"What's up?" She asked as she stood impatiently by the lycan, who was smiling.

"We need your help," he said, gesturing to the other three boys. "We need help with a prank."

"Okay," Hermione said, drawing out the short word. Pranking wasn't her type of thing. But maybe, just maybe, she could give it a go. Might help her relax a bit.

"We need a spell that will create a large body of water, not too large, about the size of let's say, the Great Hall. Would you please help us?" Sirius said with the 'puppy-dog-eyes' look. Hermione giggled, he was such a _dog_.

"Of course," she said. "But for this we'll have to go to the library." She smirked. The other boys groaned, all except Remus.

"I can't go into the library!" James exclaimed.

"Why not? Are you allergic to books?" Hermione teased.

James glared at her. "No, I have a reputation to uphold, one that includes no trips to the library. So I vote that the rest of you go!"

"Hell no, James," Sirius said. "I'm not being thrown into this one. I'm not stepping one foot into the library, Madame Pince has it out for me."

"Madame Pince?" Hermione asked with a laugh.

"She gives me the willies," Sirius explained, "with those vulture eyes. She can see into your soul, man."

"Don't be such a drama queen, Padfoot," Remus laughed. Everyone else joined him, except for Sirius who frowned.

"All right," Remus said, gaining everybody's attention. "I'll go to the library with Hermione and we'll look for the spell."

"Remus, you're a life saver," Sirius said with a grin. James nodded in agreement.

"Hermione?" Lily called out from the portrait hole. "Hermione?"

"Coming!" She called back. "I'll see you all later." Hermione said and grabbed her books, shoved them into her bag and ran out to find Lily.

Lily was leaning against the stone wall next to the Fat Lady when Hermione walked out. Her dark red hair was in a side braid and her bright green eyes were sparkling. She was tapping her foot impatiently and looking rather nervous.

"Hermione!" Lily called when she stepped into view. She pushed herself off the stone wall and came to Hermione's side. "I want to ask you something."

"Sure, what's up?" Hermione asked as Lily steered her down the moving staircases.

"Would you be willing to meet Severus?" Lily asked rather quickly.

"Sure!" Hermione said with an enthusiastic nod.

"I know James and Sirius bad mouth him, but he's not-" Lily continued. "Wait, what?"

Hermione chuckled. "I'll meet him. You speak very highly of him, so he can't be that bad. I'd say you have rather good judgement."

"Oh, thank you, Hermione!" Lily squealed, jumping up and down on her toes in excitement. "Come on! He's by the studying tree!" She grabbed Hermione's hand and started to run, all the while a large smile on her pretty face.

They passed through the halls a quick walk and rushed out into the sunlight until the two students reached the so called 'study tree.'

"Severus?" Lily said, gaining the attention of the Slytherin. He was sitting on the ground, his potions book and notes sprawled out in front of him. He had a rather long nose and black oval eyes.

"Lily?" Severus said, looking up. His eyes widened in confusion at seeing Hermione standing there as well.

"Er, hello," Hermione said with a shy wave. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Severus, I wanted you to meet Hermione, Hermione this is Severus." Lily said, gesturing between the two.

"Hello, Severus, Lily speaks very highly of you," Hermione said and stuck out her hand. Severus stood up and shook it.

"Hello, Hermione," Severus said, his cheeks showing a faint blush. "It's a pleasure. Gryffindor, correct?"

"Yes, and you're a Slytherin right?" Severus nodded. "I think its sweet that you two managed to have a friendship that didn't sour because of the rivalry between the houses."

"Uh, thanks?" Lily said, unsure how to respond. Severus and Lily glanced at each other and then at Hermione, who was smiling kindly.

"What are you working on, Severus?" Hermione asked as she sat down next to him. Severus eyed her critically before gesturing to his notes and the book.

"I'm working on a potion for Slughorn, extra credit you know."

"Ah." Hermione said with a nod. "May I?" She asked gesturing to his notes.

Severus nodded.

Hermione picked up the folded pieces of parchment and pressed them flat. It was obvious he had been working on this for quiet some time, by the amount of times this parchment had been folded gave the parchment many crinkles. Ingredients filled half of the page and the other half was the directions.

"Severus," Hermione said carefully, "what are you working on?"

"A new potion," he replied. Hermione gaped.

"A new potion? As seventh year! That's amazing and look at how far you've gotten!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly.

Severus blushed slightly.

Hermione turned over the parchment and gaped. One the backside were careful instruction on how to cut and prepare each ingredient, complete with small sketches.

"What is this potion for?" Hermione asked, still going through his notes.

"I wanted to try and complete a werewolf cure." Severus mumbled.

Hermione eyed him appreciatively.

"Really? Why?" She asked. Lily sat across from them, watching their conversation with great interest. They were both highly intelligent and would easily get along.

"I realized how hard it must be to lose ones mind on every full moon. Not to be able to control oneself. I was hoping that this would be able to give a werewolf their human mind during their transformation, if a complete cure." Severus said, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

Hermione realized that he must have come to his conclusion about werewolves after his accident with Remus at the Whomping Willow.

"Have you tried to brew it yet?" Hermione asked, handing back his notes.

"No, this is all hypothetical at the moment. I don't have any lab space to work with, let alone the ingredients." Severus replied with a shrug.

Hermione frowned, deep in thought. Could she trust him? In the future he was a spy, but had he already gone down that path? Or could she save him from the Dark?

"If you let me help you, I know of a place we could work." Hermione suggested carefully. She didn't want to intrude on his work.

Severus froze. A lab partner? He had never considered that. Who would have wanted to work with him, anyway, let alone on something for a _werewolf_ , which they most likely considered a raging beast.

Lily hadn't spoken for the entire time, but she smirked. She was glad Severus was getting to know Hermione. From what Lily could tell, Hermione was an intelligent girl with a passion for knowledge. She was decidedly a student who valued knowledge. Her companion, on the other hand, wasn't all the same. Of course, Draco was intelligent, nobody would doubt that, but the boy lacked concentration. He would much rather spend his time off gallivanting through the halls with the Marauders playing pranks on every Slytherin they passed than sit and have a intellectual stimulating conversation.

Hermione looked at Severus Snape with hopeful eyes. She knew how to brew the Wolfsbane potion and so desperately wanted to see him succeed. She was hoping it would be done in a few months time and they could do some testing before she gave it to Remus.

"Yes. I think that would be agreeable." Severus said with a jerk of his head.

Hermione smiled at him warmly.

"Excellent!"


	5. The Watery Prank

**A/N:** I am so sorry this update is late! I've been trying to get this chapter written but there was never a good place to end it! I've just been so busy! But no excuses, the show must go on!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!

* * *

Hermione and Remus sat in the library in the dark corner with books sprawled out in front of them. Parchment filled with notes and directions littered the table as the two students continued to read their books in relative quiet. Until a certain black haired wizard came in.

"Hey, guys!" James whispered to them as he sat at their table.

"James?" Hermione asked, looking up from her book.

"Glad you could recognize me, darling," James teased as he leaned back in his chair. "What are you two doing in the make out corner?

Hermione ignored him and flipped the page. "I thought that coming into the library would sully your reputation?"

"It would," James said as he twiddled his thumbs, "that's why I had Sirius cast Notice-Me-Not charms on me!"

"And he did them correctly?" Remus asked pulling his eyes off of his book and onto the raven haired prankster in front of him.

"You aren't feeling any side effects are you? No dizziness or nausea?" Hermione joked.

James gave a fake laugh. "Funny, Granger, real funny."

"I try." Hermione said and scribbled down on her parchment. Together, their notes detailed which spells they could use, the possible Runes and other relevant information one would expect Hermione and Remus to apply.

James grabbed a few pieces of parchment laying about and started to read it. He grimaced and threw it back on the table.

"Why can't you use words that make sense?"

"Mmm?" Hermione hummed, looking up from her book to James.

"Never mind." He said as he studied Hermione and Remus. "How long have you two been at this?"

"Uh," Remus said and checked his watch. "Since four."

"Merlin! It's seven! You've been at this for three hours?" James exclaimed.

"SHH!" Madam Pince glared at the group from the other side of the room. She eyed James with beady eyes.

"We're dedicated."

James snorted.

"How much longer will this take?" He asked.

"Depends," Hermione muttered.

"On?"

"On how much you annoy us," Remus said and Hermione laughed.

James glared at them.

"No, really, we are getting impatient," James said as he wiggled in his chair.

"We?" Hermione asked as she shuffled through her notes.

James ran a hand through his disheveled hair.

"Us. Sirius, Draco, Peter and I," James said.

Hermione studied James for a moment. "You know, Lily hates it when you do that."

James sat up straighter. "Do what?"

"Mess with your hair," Hermione said and she turned back to her book.

"Why?"

Hermione sighed. "She thinks your doing it because you think it makes you look 'cooler.' She sees it as a sign of arrogance."

"Oh," James muttered.

"Now James, we can discuss the Lily matter later, but if you want this done soon, you need to shut up." Hermione threatened with a glare.

James smiled softly, raised his arms in defense and sat back in the chair.

After only ten minutes James stood suddenly.

"I can't do this anymore!" He exclaimed. Remus and Hermione looked up at him. "I can't sit here and do nothing. I'll see you two at dinner!" James pushed his chair back, roughly, and left the library.

"You owe me a sickle," Remus whispered to Hermione. She smiled, dug into her pocket and produced the coin.

"Thank you," Remus chuckled as he snatched the coin from her hand.

"What have you got on the Runes?" Hermione asked as she pulled out her notes.

"Dead end." Remus said sadly. "The Runes might work, but on a smaller scale. What we want to do is not powerful enough for the Runes. To use them we'd have to carve at least…Oh, about," Remus thought for a moment, calculating in his head, "about thirty, no, forty seven symbols. And it couldn't just be one symbol. It would have to be forty seven strings of at least five symbols. It would take to long."

Hermione nodded. "We'll have to keep looking. There was this one book, _Spells From Languages of the Past_ , it might hold what we are looking for."

Remus nodded and scanned through their pile of books. "Here it is. I saw something similar; _Unlocking Old Incantations_. That might help too."

Hermione shuffled around the table and pulled out an old book with ink stains and held it up.

"That's the one." Remus said. "We should sign these out and take 'em to dinner. We still have to eat."

Hermione nodded and carefully piled up all her notes and secured them in her satchel. Grabbing the book and Remus's hand, she led him up to Madam Pince's unnaturally clean desk.

Madam Pince eyed Hermione appreciatively while smiling kindly to Remus.

"I see Madam Pince likes you," Hermione teased as they entered the Great Hall for dinner.

Remus blushed but he chuckled none the less.

"No, she only likes that I don't damage the books." Remus said as he sat down next to James and Peter. Hermione sat on the other side in between Draco and Sirius, Lily on Sirius' right.

"Who likes what?" Sirius asked in between a mouth full of food.

"Madam Pince," Hermione said.

"I can't believe you both survived her. You still have your souls right? She could have stolen them from you." Sirius asked as the rest of the Gryffindors chuckled.

"No, Sirius, we still have our souls. I promise you, Madam Pince is not a demon." Hermione comforted, patting him on the shoulder.

"Could have fooled me," Sirius muttered. Lily eyed him strangely.

"Did you hear? There's a Hogsmeade trip this Saturday!" Peter said excitedly.

Hermione smiled at the boy. He seemed happy with his friends, why would he betray them to the Dark Lord? What could have possibly made this sweet boy double-cross his best mates to the worst villain in the world. Hermione thought for a moment. Family. If Peter didn't sell his soul to the devil for himself, it must have been for his family. She was sure of it.

"Hermione? Yoo Woo, 'Mione," Lily called, waving a hand in front of Hermione's face.

"Oi, Granger," Sirius said and nudged her shoulder.

"Sorry, I zoned out," Hermione said sheepishly as she focused her attention back on the people in front of her.

"I asked if you wanted to join me in Hogsmeade?" Lily asked before adding in a quiet whisper, "Sev will be with us too."

James scowled at the mention of the Slytherin.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Hermione said as she took a bite out of her dinner.

Lily smiled at her warmly.

"Brilliant!"

* * *

Hermione and Remus spent the next few days locked up in the library in their small, dark corner, reading through more books and taking notes. James, Sirius, Draco and Peter were getting anxious. Their plans for the prank were massive, but they wanted to to start it before the Hogsmeade trip on saturday. Hermione had become strangely focused on the prank, something that was not like her.

"Remus!" Hermione said and nudged him impatiently. "Remus, I found it!"

"Found what?" Remus asked as he turned to face her.

"The spell!" Hermione said excitedly. She thrusted a book, _Ancient Incantations and Potions_ , at him with a huge smile.

Remus quickly read over the passage and then smiled. "I think it will do the trick."

Hermione stood up quickly, packed all of her belongings away and checked out the book with Remus in tow. Once the two students left the library, they took off at a run for the Gryffindor tower.

"Oi, guys!" Hermione called excitedly as she entered through the portrait hole. "We found it!"

"What?" Peter asked in confusion.

"We found a spell!" Remus clarified as he rushed after Hermione.

"Marauders Circle, now!" James commanded and they all made a small huddle. "Speak to me, Granger."

"We were searching through old books filled with spells from foreign languages and I found one that will complete the prank," Hermione said, as she showed them the book. "Right here, _Käänny tässä asiassa veteen_. It will fill it up an area with water and last about two or three days. We just have to make sure we pronounce it correctly."

"Brilliant! I could kiss you, Granger!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Please, don't," Hermione said with a look of disgust.

"Looks like you just got shot down, Padfoot!" James laughed.

Sirius frowned and shot Hermione a side ways glance.

"Can you pronounce it correctly?" Peter asked.

"Of course," Hermione told him.

"All right, here's the plan," James said, taking the lead. "Tonight, Hermione, Sirius and I will take the cloak and go to the Great Hall and do the spell. To add more fun, Remus, Peter and Draco will go to the Dungeons and Remus will do the spell. That way the Slytherins don't think we've forgotten them. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Sirius said with mock salute.

"Don't be a prat, Sirius," James said and pushed Sirius out of his seat.

Hermione smiled at them and glanced at Draco. He looked a lot more carefree than he ever did in their own time stream. His eyes were lit up and a smile graced his face. His blond hair was still disheveled but it gave him a more carefree look. Draco noticed Hermione's glance and gave her a smile. It was in that moment that Hermione was glad she was doing the prank, just to help Draco feel like a teenager. He never had that luxury.

It was a year ago that Draco left the Death Eaters and his parents behind to join Dumbledore. Draco had told her everything as to why he left. His parents, being the pureblood fanatics they were, pressured him into becoming a Death Eater, to live up to the Malfoy name. That was the only reason he had bullied her in school, to make his father proud. It wasn't until third year, when she had punched him in the nose, he realized everything he was taught was wrong. His father was wrong, but he couldn't do anything about it. So, he continued on with the arrogant facade.

Before he could escape, he was branded, like cattle. It hurt like hell, Draco had told her, but if you screamed, it only got worse. So he took it in silence. It was a few days after that when Blaise Zabini was murdered by his fathers fellow Death Eaters, for staying neutral in the war. Draco ran to Dumbledore for help and he had received it. Dumbledore had him join the Order and stay at Headquarters where the Golden Trio was staying at the time for their protection. Draco made an effort to forget the past, but Harry and Ron didn't want to forgive him and see past the broken boy. Hermione had tried to talk to him, but he never opened up, until one day when she met him in the library.

 ** _Flashback_**

He was crying. Hermione was sure of that, but she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Draco Malfoy, crying?

She took a tentative step forward and he looked up. His eyes were slightly watery, his cheeks lined with tear tracks and Hermione's heart went out to him. He hurriedly brushed his cheeks dry.

"Draco," Hermione said slowly. She hoped he wouldn't push her away, but open up to her and talk. She could tell he needed a friend.

"Go away." But Hermione continued to walk forward.

"Draco," Hermione repeated and sat next him on the couch. "Please. What's wrong?"

Draco looked up at her with his silver eyes. "Why do you care?"

"Because I do."

"That's not an answer," he said and shifted away from her.

"Draco." Hermione said, her voice calm.

"What do you want?" he snapped. Hermione sighed and studied him for a moment.

"You're hurting, I can tell. You don't talk to anybody and you're always by yourself," Hermione said, but Draco said nothing. "Draco, you need to talk to somebody."

"I don't need anybody!" He exclaimed and pushed her away.

"Everybody needs somebody, it's human nature. Please, Draco I just want to help you."

"I can't be helped. I'm beyond help," Draco murmured.

"Nobody's beyond help!" Hermione said, she placed a hand on Dracos shoulder and he tensed. "Draco, please, just tell me what's bothering you."

Draco sighed and looked at Hermione with his grief stricken silver eyes and started to speak.

 **End Flashback**

Hermione turned her attention back to the boys and out of her reverie. James and Sirius were sprawled out, wrestling on the floor, while Draco, Remus and Peter shouted encouragement from the couches. Smiling Hermione stood up and went to grab her things. Boys, would they ever change?

* * *

Night came quickly and everybody went to bed, but the Marauders, Draco and Hermione who stayed in the common room. When they were sure everybody had gone to bed, James quietly unfurled the Invisibility Cloak from his pocket and handed it Sirius. He then reached into his coat pocket and unfolded the Marauders Map and shoved it at Remus.

"You'll have to be more careful than us. The trip to the Dungeons is longer, use it and make sure to hide in the secret corridors,

" he said and Remus nodded.

"Let me cast the charms," Hermione said and pulled out her wand. She waved it in a simple pattern over each boy and then smiled. "You're all set."

"Thanks, Granger," Draco said and Hermione gave him a huge smile.

"Everybody ready?" James asked and they all nodded. "Meet back here at midnight at the latest. Capiche?"

"Yes, Captain!" Sirius said and chuckled.

"Off we go!" James said and tugged Sirius and Hermione along.

The three Gryffindors made they way under the cloak to the Great Hall in comfortable silence. It was a little difficult squeezing three people under the cloak as they were full grown adults at this point and not tiny first years, but somehow they managed. When they reached the Great Hall, they quickly ripped off the cloak and set to work.

"Hermione, help me levitate the tables," James said.

"Sure thing," Hermione replied and pulled out her wand. Once the house tables were levitating in the thin air. Sirius went about putting tubes filled with air under the seats and waterproof charms on the tables themselves.

"Finished!" he announced while Hermione and James set the house tables back on the stone floor. "Hermione? Can you place the shielding spell?"

"Of course!" Hermione went to the entrance doors and made a complex pattern. A blue strand emitted from her wand and went to make a see through wall in the entrance.

"Fill her up, oh powerful one!" James said and Hermione laughed.

"Stand over there," Hermione said and pointed. " _Käänny tässä asiassa veteen,"_ she pronounced carefully and clearly.

The Great Hall slowly filled with water about six feet deep. James and Sirius had already put away their wands and swam around, splashing each other.

"Come on! We have to be getting back!" Hermione ushered and the boys quickly swam past the shimmering blue shield that held the water place a drying charm on the boys' clothes. The three students quickly closed the doors to the Great Hall and ran back up to Gryffindor tower, filled with excitement at tomorrows events.

* * *

When Hermione woke up, she was buzzing with excitement. Her first prank! She hurriedly got dressed and grabbed her things before rushing down the staircase to find Draco sitting on one of the couches.

"You're awake!" he said standing up. He was put together rather nicely, his blonde hair combed into place and his uniform crisply ironed. "James and the rest of the gang already went down to breakfast. They got up rather early today. I guess they could wait to see your handiwork."

"It was a group effort," Hermione muttered as she let Draco steer her out of the tower and down the moving staircases.

"From what James said yesterday, you did all the big spells, flawlessly I might add," Draco said with a small proud smile.

Hermione shrugged as they saw the line of people staring into the Great Hall. "I like a challenge."

"I suppose you do," Draco muttered. "Now, our new challenge." Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Pushing our way to the front."

Hermione chuckled.

"Just follow me," before one could say 'Hogwarts' Hermione had pulled Draco to the front of the crowd and they peered into the Hall.

It looked exactly as it had last night when Hermione casted the spells. Although, the Dumbledore at the High Table was an addition.

"Students, please remain calm," the Headmaster announced, "it is only a prank and the water is harmless! Please, use the drying charms and waterproof charms to get through to your tables. Breakfast will commence as usual." Dumbledore finished his short speech and sat back down and started piling food on his plate.

Seeing that the Headmaster couldn't do anything about the situation, students started to cast drying charms on themselves, their belongings and others. The prefects casted the charm for the younger students who had not yet learned or mastered it. Draco glanced at Hermione and they followed the other students in who swam to their normal seats. Eventually, Hermione and Draco made it to Gryffindor table to sit next to Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter. Lily was sitting at the opposite end, with Dorcas Meadows, Marlene Mckinnon, Cassiopeia Throft, Lara Fitz and Sadie Croft, all girls in Hermione's dorm.

"Hey, Hermione!" Lily called and waved her down. Hermione nodded to her.

"See you guys in a bit, yeah?" Hermione said to the boys who nodded. She picked up her things and awkwardly swam down to the girls.

"Did you hear who found this?" Lara Fitz said. She had long brown hair and green eyes that lit up when she got excited.

"No," Cassi Throft muttered as she pushed around her eggs. Cassi was a very beautiful girl, with a pale complexion, black hair, red lips and the brightest blue eyes. She only thought she was 'passingly pretty,' when she was indeed a knock-out.

"The girl who's arranged to marry Perseus Parkinson!" Sadie Croft said with a tight smile. Sadie was a thin girl with a strong love of Quidditch. She was Gryffindor's leading Chaser.

"Oh, you mean Sasha Brown?" Dorcas Meadows clarified. Dorcas was a strange witch. She loved to gossip, especially with Lara, but got annoyed quickly. She was a star at Transfiguration but her love was for Charms.

"Yeah. Well, anyway, I heard she left the Slytherin common room to meet up with the DADA professor and found the same thing in front of their portrait! She ran screaming all the way to Dumbledore and raved about how her dignity was ruined because her clothes were soaked. She didn't even think to cast a drying charm! Then she came for breakfast and flipped out!"

"She's an airhead, that's what," Marlene Mckinnon said and shook her head. "The other day she wasn't even paying attention and almost tripped over a first year. She's going to get herself killed if she keeps it up."

"Plus, she's a stuck up snob," Lily added around bits of sausage. "She's always voicing her unwanted opinion on other peoples clothes and I think Black rubbed off on her."

"Black?" Hermoine asked.

"Bellatrix Black," Lily said. "I forgot you wouldn't know her. She was two years ahead of us. A nasty witch with an awful temper. She enjoyed Dark Magic, dueling and name calling. Her favorite was _Mudblood_."

"She sounds lovely," Hermione said sarcastically.

"I heard she's married to Lestrange now," Cassi said.

"No! Really?" Sadie asked.

"Yes, they got hitched a few days ago. Her and Rodolphus Lestrange," Cassi said, adding the last part for Hermione's benefit. "It was a huge deal in Wizarding News."

"Why was it such a big deal?" Lily asked.

"It was the the unification of two _very_ powerful pureblood families. It's all about power and who knows who in pureblood upperclass." Dorcas explained.

"Who would be pureblood lower class?" Hermione asked.

"People like the Weasley's. They are a very nice family, but poorer than a gnome. It doesn't 'look good' to other purebloods. For them its all about wealth and power. The Weasley's don't care about that stuff and just want a nice big family." Marlene explained.

"Oh," Lily said.

"Who do you think did all this?" Lara asked, obviously changing the topic. They all knew Lily did appreciate talking about the differences in culture and traditions between Muggles and the Wizarding society.

"I'm not sure," Hermione said thoughtfully. "It would seem to be really advance magic."

"Yes," Lily nodded, agreeing, "that why we know it's not _them_." She said disdainfully and jerked her head in the Marauders direction. Hermione chuckled.

"Of course this wasn't them, it was way to hard of magic for them to complete. It would have taken days of researching for them to find a spell. They don't have the patience for that."

"Remus could have researched it for them," Sadie pointed out.

"He could have, but he was with me for the past few days working on homework in the Library, he wouldn't have the time." Hermione said, proud she could lie so easily. It was a thrilling feeling, keeping her pranks a secret.

"I wonder who it was then," Lara said thoughtfully and pushed her empty plate away.

"I guess we'll never know," Lily said soberly.

"Are you guys going to Hogsmeade this saturday?" Cassi asked.

"Yeah," Lily said and pushed her plate away, "I'm going with Hermione and Severus.

"Snape?" Dorcas asked and shivered. "Why? He's a creepy bloke."

"Severus is not creepy!" Lily said indignantly.

Lily glared at Dorcas with her bright emerald green eyes.

"Yes he is." Lara pointed out. "He is so quiet, never says anything and all he does is stare at you and practice Dark Magic. I think that qualifies a creepy."

"All right," Lily sighed. "So maybe I don't agree with his ideals but I've never actually seen him with a Dark Magic book or practicing it!"

"He hides it from you," Sadie commented. "He doesn't want your opinion of him to lower."

"And why's that?" Hermione asked.

"Severus has this fascination with our Lily," Marlene told her. "He's always with her whenever possible, always looking at her, as he is right now." Hermione glanced at the Slytherin table and sure enough Severus was gazing at the back of Lily's head. "I think he's in love with her."

"What!" Lily exclaimed choking on her pumpkin juice. A few students from other tables glanced at her and she flushed in embarrassment and lowered her voice. "Don't be silly, Mar, Severus isn't 'in love with me.' We are just friends!"

"Just friends?" Marlene asked and paused for a moment. "Well, I don't think a friend would carry all your books to your classes. A friend wouldn't make eyes at you and a friend would certainly not become flushed and uncomfortable when you walk into a room looking like a piece of nice and juicy-"

"Enough!" Lily snapped and glared at Marlene who smiled victoriously.

"Am I missing something?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. Well, last year we had the Halloween ball and Lily here came with us. Which meant-" Dorcas explained before getting interrupted.

"Which meant," Lily said and glared at the other girls, "this lot took me costume shopping for _four hours_."

"Yes, well, you're picky." Lara said and Lily huffed.

"Anyway," Dorcas said and glared at Lily for interrupting her. "We found her this beautiful red dress that clung to _everything_. It left Snape and James quite speechless."

"They said I was supposed to be Lady Gryffindor," Lily said, red from embarrassment, "but it wasn't even historically accurate!"

"Oh, pish posh, you looked gorgeous! Every guy practically drooled over you!" Cassi said and winked. "In my opinion, she could have gotten laid-"

"All right!" Lily exclaimed, interrupting Cassi in her crude statement and Hermione laughed. "I'm going to class. I can't deal with this torture anymore! See you later, Hermione! Good luck with this lot."

Hermione laughed and waved as Lily swam out the Great Hall.

"She's so touchy," Cassi complained. "I was only saying-"

"We know what you were saying, Cassi, we don't need to hear it," Dorcas said and Cassi frowned.

"I'll meet up with you guys later, I'm going to class," Hermione said and waved them goodbye as she awkwardly towed her stuff as she swam to the door.


	6. Hogsmeade

A/N: I am so sorry about the long delay! School started back up and I have been very busy. Also I got hit smack in the face with writers block! I got this chapter out as quick as I could. Please forgive any errors.

* * *

Loud noises woke Hermione up. She turned over and let out a muffled groan.

"I told you!" a voice accused. "I said we were going to wake her up!"

Hermione could tell it was Sadie talking, the high pitched tone of righteousness gave her away. Sadie was about right and wrong. When something was right, she was all for it. If it was the wrong thing to do, well, good luck getting sympathy from her. That was one of the many reasons Sadie did not enjoy talking with the Marauders.

Glancing at her clock Hermione let out another tired groan. Seven in the morning! What were they doing up so early? Hermione was used to being the first one out of bed.

"What are you doing?"Hermione said through her fog of sleep. She sat up and pulled her curtains back.

"Sorry we woke you, Hermione," Dorcas said cheerfully, not sounding the least bit sorry. She was sitting on her bed with her wand around her hair. It was a spell Dorcas created in fifth year, a super heating charm that worked just like a muggle curling iron. Sadie stood to the left of her holding up a mirror for Dorcas to use. She was half dressed with pajama bottoms on and a clean shirt. Dorcas was working carefully on half of her head while the other half was a frizzy mess from her sleep.

"Why in Merlins name are you up so early on a saturday?" Hermione asked.

"We need to get ready for the Hogsmeade trip!" Marlene said excitedly from her bed. She turned to look at Hermione and frowned. "Why aren't you up yet?"

"Because I like my sleep!" Hermione said and stood up, stretching.

"Woah," Sadie muttered.

"What?" Hermione said looking around. All the dorm girls were looking at her. More specifically, her hair.

"Merlin Hermione! When did you grow an afro?" Lara joked as she came out of the dorms bathroom.

Hermione chuckled and unknowingly tugged strands of her curly hair. "It's always like this in the mornings."

"You need my expertise," Dorcas said as she stood up from her bed. "Come along, in the bathroom. Now!"

Hermione knew it wasn't going to do her any good to argue. She entered the bathroom and looked at Dorcas as if to say, 'I'm here, what now.'

Dorcas followed her into the bathroom. "Take a shower, put extra conditioner in your hair."

Hermione shook her head but followed her orders. She turned on the water, undressed and stepped into the warm water.

"Ladies! Pick out an outfit for Hermione to wear today! Make her look good!" Dorcas said as she opened the bathroom door.

"Yes, Ma'am!" The girls laughed. They knew not to disobey Dorcas when she got into her 'fashion crisis mode.'

"Lara? I need you to get out your kit, I'll be doing her makeup when shes dressed. Sadie? Please get out your best hair products. Get to it!" Drocas said and closed the door.

As Hermione showered, Dorcas made quick time of doing her own hair and makeup, but with her looks, it took no time at all. As Hermione stepped out of the shower, clothes were shoved through the open door.

"Lets see what we got here," Dorcas muttered and examined the items of clothing. "Good pick ladies, you've passed!"

Dorcas threw the clothes at Hermione for her to change into while she organized the hair and makeup products. As Hermione pulled her shirt over her head, Dorcas motioned for her to sit down on the seat she had previously conjured. Dorcas immediately rubbed some of Sadie's hair products through Hermione's hair as she heated up her wand. Tapping her chin, she thought for a moment.

"Hold this up," Dorcas commanded as she held out hair for Hermione. Quickly, she used her magic to dry Hermione's hair straight before using her wand to curl it. It took of all ten minutes for Dorcas to get Hermione's hair in full curls that reached her lower back. Smiling, Dorcas turned Hermione for a peek at her hair.

She stared at her self in shock. There was no frizz! "Dorcas, this is…is… wow."

Dorcas smiled and pocketed her wand. "Darling, it's not over yet."

Pulling forward Lara's makeup supplies, Dorcas made quick work with Hermione's face.

"You've got great facial structure! Jeez, Hermione, look at those cheekbones!" Dorcas commented as she worked. Hermione just smiled and endured the tugs and pinches of her skin. It only lasted a few more minutes before Dorcas pulled away and examined her work.

"You're all done, dear!" Dorcas exclaimed. She turned Hermione to face the mirror and she gasped.

"Sweet Circe," Hermione muttered. Her hair was in beautiful ringlets down her back and her make up was down simply, but perfectly. She only had a little bit of foundation on, with blush, and her eyes had large lashes with dark eye shadow that accentuated out her honey brown eyes. Her lips were glossed in only a tint of pink, giving it a fuller appearance.

"I do _not_ look like me," Hermione said and Dorcas frowned.

"But?" Dorcas said, expectantly. "I hope there's a but in there somewhere."

"But," Hermione said, still gazing at her face. "But I love it."

"Oh! I'm so happy; you look absolutely gorgeous!" Dorcas gushed. She opened the bathroom door, ready to show her final touches off, expecting nothing but praises.

"Ladies?" She called. All eyes went on her. "I now give you the new, the improved, Hermione Granger!" Dorcas pushed Hermione back into the dorm room and everybody stared.

"So?" Hermione said nervously. "How do I look?"

Lara closed her dropped mouth and smiled. "Hermione, you're a knockout!"

"Look at that body!" Sadie commented. The clothes that they had chosen for her, white shorts with an emerald green halter top, clung to her curves and showed off her assets.

"I think we did good, ladies," Cassi said happily.

"Dorcas, you did her make up perfectly!" Marlene praised, causing Dorcas to smile and puff up like a mother bird.

"Hurry up girls!" Lara scolded them. "It's time for breakfast!"

Hermione grabbed her wand and small beaded bag as she left the dorm. Climbing down the spiraling staircase to the dorm room, Hermione saw the Marauders and Draco waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hermione! Doll, you look exquisite today!" James complimented. Hermione eyed him suspiciously. He was never the one to compliment anyone other than Lily. What was he up to?

"James," Hermione said cooly, "what are you up to?"

"Nothing!" He exclaimed rather quickly. He cleared his throat nervously and smiled. "Nothing, we were um-"

"We were just discussing the latest Transfiguration essay," Remus supplied with a quick glance to James.

"Really?" Hermione said raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yes!" James said, nodding his head eagerly. "I was asking Moony here what the best way to compose my essay was."

"Ah. I see," Hermione said. They were never the type of boys to discuss homework.

She glanced again at Remus, whose eyes were downcast and the tips of his ears pink. A large sign he was lying. Remus was never very good at lying to people he was close with. Sure, he could get away with lying to McGonagall and possibly Dumbledore, but never to any of the Marauders.

As Lily came through the portrait hole, most likely from the Head student dorms, Sirius changed the subject. "Hermione, are you in love with a Slytherin?" Every eye went to him in bewilderment.

"Not that I'm aware of," Hermione said, cocking her head to the side. "Why?"

"It's just-That's the only explanation for you wearing the color green," He said with a small smirk.

Hermione laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous! I happen to like the color green," She said, warmth filling her eyes.

"Traitor," Sirius whispered with a small smile about his lips.

"Anyway," James said, eyeing Sirius and Hermione with a strange look. "Will you ladies be joining us for todays expedition to Hogsmeade?"

Hermione gave a throaty chuckle that drew admiring glances. "No, James, we will not be. Lily and I are going together along with Severus today."

"Ah," James said cooly. He obviously did not like the girls's friendship with the Slytherin.

"What time do the carriages leave?" Lily asked, shooting James a strange look.

"At nine thirty to eleven. Why?" Remus said, glancing at his clock.

"Just wondering if we have time for breakfast. I'm starving! Come on, Hermione," Lily said and grabbed her elbow, effectively pulling her out of the portrait hole.

Hermione gave the Marauders plus one a quick wave and a grin as she was pulled away.

"I told Severus we would meet him at the Entrance Hall at ten. We could possibly meet up earlier," She said and then glanced at Hermione's attire. "Who on earth dressed you?"

"Um, Dorcas and the other girls. Why? Does it look bad? Should I change?" Hermione said rather quickly.

"Don't be silly, Hermione. I just wanted to know who I have to thank for their wonderful work." Lily replied and Hermione glanced at her. "You look absolutely gorgeous, 'Mione."

"'Mione?'" Hermione asked. A wave of homesickness washed over her as she thought of Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna and Neville. Pictures of the Borrow swam before her unseeing eyes and the flash of red hair as it flew by. The Christmas festivities filled her memory and laughter sounded in her ears. A pang of sadness washed over her.

"Well, yeah," Lily said, gaining Hermione's attention once more. "Every friend has a nickname. Look at the Marauders, even though theirs make no sense."

Hermione smiled wryly. "No, they don't do they?" She lied.

oOo

Hermione and Lily were met with the sweet smells of autumn as they walked outside towards the awaiting carriages with Severus. The leaves were turning various colors and it was a beautiful sight to behold. Except for the large ominous clouds that hung above the three.

"I hope it doesn't rain while we're in Hogsmeade," Lily said as she glance up at the dark clouds.

Severus hummed. "I don't think it will."

"It will most likely rain tonight, Lily," Hermione added. "Come, there is one carriage there."

Hermione, Lily and Severus picked up their pace to reach the carriage before anyone else was able to.

"Have you heard, Ari's sister is pregnant!" Lily said excitedly. Ari Chang was a seventh year halfblood who resided in the Ravenclaw house. Hermione wasn't very close to Ari, but Lily had held a few conversations with her and they seemed to be friends.

"Oh! How wonderful!" Hermione said with a warm smile. "How far along?"

"Just in her first trimester," Lily said. "She said that Marie, her sister, was already having morning sickness and seems rather ill."

"Strange," Hermione hummed. She glanced at Severus who was staring out into the woods, ignoring the girls talk.

"Severus?" Hermione asked and he turned to stare at her with his black eyes. "How is life as a Slytherin treating you?"

Severus visibly tensed, though Lily didn't notice, and Hermione wondered what had happened. "It is…as usual." He drawled. Hermione frowned.

"Nothing interesting?" Hermione hummed.

"No," Severus snapped and she raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, look! We're here," Lily said, trying to diffuse the tension. They all climbed out of the carriage and made their way into the petite village.

The three spent their start of the day strolling through the streets, pointing out every little shop to Hermione. Hermione tried to act excited and surprised at seeing Hogsmeade for what was supposed to be for the first time, but all she felt was an overwhelming sense of sadness. The last time she had visited the lovely village, it was had just survived a Death Eater attack. There had been buildings burnt to the ground and fires still going. Debris littered the streets and Hermione could only stare at what had happened. But now, the streets were lively and filled with light. Lily and Severus were walking happily down the street, talking happily, although Hermione wasn't listening.

Not to far away from the group, James, Sirius, Remus, Draco, and Peter were following them. James was in the lead, a mischievous glint in his eyes, Sirius was not to far behind, a skip to his step.

"I don't understand why Lily and Hermione are friends with the greasy git," Sirius sneered. "I wonder if he has them under a dark spell."

"Don't be ridiculous," Remus said, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all. "Hermione is smart, as is Lily, they would know."

"I doubt they would give him the chance, Hermione is _very_ wand happy." Draco assessed dryly.

"Still," James muttered, "it seems something he would do."

As Lily and Severus walked closer to the center of the village, the more excitement ran through them. They were finally able to go back to the Three Broomsticks after the long summer they had. Hermione smiled as they walked into the familiar parlor of the pub. The smells of butterbeer, fresh food and spices drifted in the air and warmed Hermione's heart. Nutmeg, mint, cinnamon, and vanilla. Hermione took a deep breath and smiled. With a warm heart once more, she followed Severus and Lily to their usual table.

"I think you'll love it in here, Hermione," Lily said as she sat down. "You'll love the butterbeer!"

"It's cozy," Severus added a look of mild disdain on his face as he sat next to Lily.

"It's lovely," Hermione said smiling at them. One of the few waitresses came to their table and Lily flashed her a smile.

"Three butterbeers, please," She ordered.

Hermione looked up to the door as a group of students entered, among them, the Marauders plus Draco. Hermione noticed Sirius chatting with James and quickly pointing to their table. With a scowl, she realized they were probably following them.

"What ya' doing with this greasy git?" Sirius said as he came up to the table. Severus scowled and shot a glare at Sirius.

"Chatting," Hermione said innocently. "What are you five doing?"

Sirius blinked. "We came in here for a butterbeer."

"Really?" Lily said, also giving the group a glare. "Or were you following us?"

"Of course not, flower!" James butted in.

"Don't call me _that_ ," Lily said. Hermione glared at James. All the hard work, down the drain. James lifted his hands in mock surrender.

"Why hasn't the git said anything yet? Has he gone mute?" James pouted.

"That would be a gift!" Sirius laughed. Severus abruptly stood up and pointed his wand at Sirius, hidden from view from other guests in the pub by his robes. Sirius quickly drew his, returning the favor.

"Why don't you just shut up and run back to mummy and daddy?" Severus sneered. "Oh, I forgot, they disowned you."

"Shut up, you… _Death Eater_ ," Sirius said shoving his wand into Severus' stomach. With a growl Severus started to cast a rather nasty curse, but before he was able to, his wand was summoned from his hand, along with Sirius'. They both turned to stare at Hermione who had their wands in her open hand.

"Behave, both of you!" Hermione scolded.

"Hermione," Severus' voice became low and dangerous. "Give me my wand."

"No," Hermione snapped. "Not until you both learn to play nicely!"

A loud bang made the group jump visibly and they all turned to the large wooden entrance. There, in the doorway, stood three figures dressed in dark robes and silver skull masks.

 _Death Eaters_.

Hermione jumped to her feet ready to fight. Draco followed her movement and aimed his wand toward the intruder, careful not to be noticed. Severus, Sirius, James and the rest jumped and turned to look at the dark figures with startled features.

"Get out!" One of the pubs bartenders, Madam Hastings, ran forward yelling. "Get out of this pub! You are not welcome- "

The Death Eater sneered behind the mask. In once fell swoop, Madam Hastings hit the floor with a loud _thump_. Everybody stared.

"What are you going to do?" The Death Eater taunted. One of the other's slightly behind him laughed gleefully.

"Anybody else?" He taunted. "No?"

"Hurry, Rodolphus!" A woman's voice urged. Hermione recognized it; the voice with the maniac laugh that had once tortured her.

Bellatrix.

Rodolphus? Hermione thought for a moment. Who was Rodolphus? Why did that name sound so familiar? Her husband!

"Everyone, on the ground! Now!" The other Death Eater commanded.

"Nobody reach for their wands or we will kill you!" Bellatrix said with a smile. While she was training her wand on the pub goers, Rodolphus and the other unknown Death Eater turned to the bar and make quick work of breaking the bottles of ale before splashing it all over the pub.

"Incendio!" Bellatrix squealed happily. The bar quickly went up in flames.

Havoc rose around them. People forgot about the Death Eaters momentarily and started screaming, dashing for the doors in an attempt to escape. Killing Curses were flung in random directions, hitting innocent people. With one look to Draco, Hermione nodded and started to quickly cast spells at the three Death Eaters, gaining their attention.

They blinked. They didn't expect anyone to fight back. It was that hesitation Hermione needed and she used it.

Casting a quick _stupefy,_ Hermione knocked the unknown Death Eater out cold. Rodolphus and Bellatrix sneered and advanced at Hermione with a hungry and dangerous gleam in their eyes.

"Hermione!" Severus called. "Now would be a good time to give me my wand!"

"Oh. Right!" Hermione said as she flung an _Expelliarmus_ at the Death Eater, who easily dodged it. She threw the wands to Severus and Sirius who caught them. They glanced at the wands and then at each other before switching.

Rodolphus made his way to Hermione as Bellatrix started at Sirius. She could hear the two cousins taunting and insulting each other, but she quickly tuned them out, focusing on her target.

"What's a pretty little thing like you gonna do?" Rodolphus taunted. "There's not much you could do to me. But I know plenty of things I could do _to you_." He smiled, a wicked and ugly grin. Hermione's face was emotionless and cold. She was used to taunts and jabs. Hell, she had been tortured! Sizing up her opponent, Hermione calculated the weak points. Eyes. Neck. Stomach. Groin.

Rodolphus sneered and flung a slicing hex towards Hermione who quickly dodged it. As Hermione dodged the nasty spell, she ran through the list of spells in her head.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione screeched, but Rodolphus easily sidestepped.

They circled each other, each flinging their own spells. As Hermione got more and more into it, she shoved propriety out the window.

" _Sectumsempra!"_ Hermione called. Rodolphus' eyes widened at the use of Dark Magic, minor as it was. The only way to dodge the Dark Magic, Rodolphus dropped to the floor as Hermione circled in. In the process of dropping down, Rodolphus' wand rolled away from him, still in reach but Hermione's foot got there first.

"The Dark Lord could use someone like you," He said and Hermione sneered. She clenched her fist and swung, her knuckles connecting with the Death Eaters mouth and jaw.

"I'd rather die."

"That could be arranged," Rodolphus sneered. He gave a small smile as a trail of blood came from the corner of his mouth. "The Dark Lord could unlock your gifts! He could give you protection," Rodolphus spat out blood.

Hermione laughed coldly. "Protect me from what? Himself? I don't need his _protection._ " She spat the word with as much venom as she could.

Rodolphus shook his head.

"You don't know what's coming, girlie," he said with a smug smirk. "Everything you could possibly dream of…and worse. You want to make sure you're on the right side." As Rodolphus talked his hand inched closer to his wand, finally his fingertips landed on the cool mahogany handle and curled around it. In a flash, he pulled his wand out from under her shoe and sprang to his feet, wand pointing at her throat.

With a few nonverbal _Expelliarmus_ ' and one _Stupefy_ , Rodolphus had lost his wand once more.

"I do know what's coming, that's why I'm here," She spat without thinking. Rodolphus only raised an aristocratic eyebrow in confusion.

"Petrificus Totalus Maxima!" Hermione shouted, and the Death Eater froze, statue-like. Hermione looked down at him, but he only stared up at her blankly. "I'm not a murderer if I don't have to be," she said to him in a quiet voice.

With a second glance to the Death Eater on the floor, Hermione spotted Draco across the room working alongside Sirius to take down Bellatrix.

The fighting continued with a defining roar as a shop blew up in the streets. The sound made glass vibrate and everyone to pause for a second before fighting again. Hermione made her way, stumbling through the throng of people towards Draco just as Bellatrix gave a nasty smile and apperated away.

Draco cursed and turned to Hermione. Both of them wanted Bellatrix behind bars, or dead for that matter, before she could do any lasting damage like torturing the Longbottoms into insanity.

"Damn it!" Sirius cried out. "She got away!" He clenched his fists in anger.

"Not now, Sirius," Hermione said as she gazed over her friends, checking for injuries. When she found none, she gave a quick nod to Draco and went for the door.

"You're not going out there!" Lily said in a fearful tone. Hermione turned around and noticed the girls eyes were wide with fright.

She sighed. The innocence these people had was frustrating.

"Yes, I am," Hermione said simply and turned back to the door.

"Don't be ridiculous!" James exclaimed.

"You'll be killed!" Sirius said.

Hermione frowned. "I've done more fighting than you have ever done in your entire life. Don't worry, we'll be fine."

Hermione ignored the rising voices behind her and moved to open the pub's door. Peeking outside, Hermione saw people scattered, a few bodies laying on the stone walkway, burning buildings and at least five Death Eaters. She quietly closed the door and turned back to Draco.

"It's bad," she said. "Five Death Eaters. We need a plan. If we walk out now they'll see us."

Draco thought for a moment. "Back door?"

Hermione hummed.

"James! Is there a back door in here?"

"Yeah, that's how we got in to buy liquor for the-" James stopped as he noticed the glare that came from Lily.

"Great, now the Head Girl knows," Sirius said.

Hermione ignored them and went straight for the back with the others following.

"Hermione, stop! We're coming with you," Sirius said as he held his wand in a tight grip.

"No, not happening," Hermione replied as she checked out back for Death Eaters. Finding none, she opened the door.

"Yes, we can-"

"I said no!" Hermione turned to glare at them. "You may think you can hold up in a fight, but your idea of a fight is a school duel, were your opponent stops as soon as you loose your wand. This isn't it. You could die! I'm not letting you take those risks when you are certainly not ready!"

"What about you, you're our age. How come you can go?" James asked.

"Because I've had experience. I've fought before in a life or death situation. I know what it feels like to see someone die, to be ripped apart in front of you. If any of you saw that, you'd freeze, you'd hesitate and that's what would get you killed."

"She's right, you know," Draco said. His blonde hair was disheveled and he had a large cut on his cheek. "You don't know how to truly fight. If you go out there you _are_ going to get hurt."

"Fine, we'll wait here," Lily said with a frown. Hermione looked at her for a moment and then nodded.

"Don't go anywhere, keep the Death Eaters unconscious and bound. We'll be back for you in a bit," she said and then slipped out the door.


	7. Hogsmeade Part 2

**A/N** : Sorry it's taken so long! I had a bit of a writers block but I'm back! I also have a poll up on my profile if you would please check that out and vote! It will help me decide who to set Hermione with in this story! Thank you and with the story!

* * *

Outside was complete chaos. Buildings were in flames. Screams pierced the air like wolves howling. People in black robes and silver masks ran about shouting and laughing at the chaos, reveling in it. Hermione stood transfixed, memories of the Battle of Hogwarts flooded her mind, but she quickly shook them away. She had a job to do.

"We have to protect the Potters at all cost," Hermione whispered to Draco, who in turn nodded. "Keep an eye on this building, I set up wards before we left to alert me if something's happening."

"Sure, but Granger?" Draco said, turning to her. "Make sure you don't get yourself killed."

Hermione smiled. "You too."

Tightening their grip on their wands, they sprung into action, shooting any hex or curse that drifted into their heads, at the black robed figures.

As Hermione took down her second Death Eater, a loud scream drew her attention. It was full of pain and anguish. It reminded her of her days in Malfoy Manor, when Bellatrix had been torturing her.

Binding the Death Eater that lay unconscious on the dirt, Hermione ran towards the sound. There lying in the stone road she flu d a raven haired boy sprawled about in a pool of his own blood. Hermione raced up to him and dropped to her knees. As he turned his face to her, she realized who he was. Regulus Black.

"Hermione, right?" Regulus muttered and Hermione nodded.

"Yes," she said. "What happened?"

"Hurts," he muttered in a child-like voice. He grimaced as he shifted. Hermione's heart went out to the small fifth year.

"I know," Hermione cooed. "It'll be all right, you'll see. Show me where it hurts."

Regulus nodded slowly and tried to pull up his blood soaked shirt but was unable to. Hermione quickly ripped it open to reveal multiple, nasty cuts along his abdomen and chest.

Choking back a moan, Regulus looked up at Hermione with watery eyes. "Please."

"Hush," she cooed and rubbed a hand through his hair as she pressed the tip of her wand to one of the cuts. She quickly did a simple healing spell before moving onto the others. They were going to need dittany for these, and they would still scar. Regulus sighed as the pain subsided into a bearable burn, but the loss of blood made his head spin.

"I'm dizzy," he murmured. Hermione nodded and wrapped her arms around him. She quickly pulled him to her chest and he clutched onto her for dear life.

"I left my bag in my jacket in the Three Broomsticks," Hermione explained softly. "We'll be there in no time. Just stay awake, Regulus. Listen to me and stay awake." Regulus nodded at her for a moment before his eyes slowly started to shut.

"No! Regulus! Stay awake!" Hermione commanded and his eyes flung back open.

"Sorry," he muttered softly and Hermione gave him a fond smile.

When she reached the pub, Hermione threw open the door, startling the people inside. James jumped up and aimed his wand at her before lowering it once he recognized her through her bloody and torn clothes.

"Granger?" James asked. "What happened? That's a Slytherin!"

"Well spotted. Grab me my jacket, James, now." Hermione commanded and James did as he was told. "And get me some whiskey."

Hermione quickly cleared off a table and laid the topless Regulus down. "Don't fall asleep yet, Reg. Stay awake, c'mon. Sirius will be here soon, okay? Stay awake for him. Please, Reg." Hermione pleaded as she grabbed her jacket from James and brushed away a few tears. Reaching into a pocket with shaking hands, she produced her charmed purple beaded bag and glanced at Regulus.

"James, find Sirius, now!" Hermione ordered. "Accio potions!" A large brown box came flying out of the bag and Hermione carefully set it on the table. Opening it, she grabbed a Blood Replenishing potion and tilted Regulus's head back. Pouring it into his open mouth, Hermione helped him swallow by massaging his throat carefully.

"Hermione? What is it?" Sirius said as he entered the pub. "Regulus!" He exclaimed as he saw his brother on the table, bloodied and almost unconscious.

"Hi," Regulus replied airily. Hermione looked down at him, studying his face. He looked very pale and sweat beaded his forehead. Reaching into her beaded bag Hermione grabbed her muggle flashlight.

"Reg," Hermione said sweetly, "look at me Reg." She quickly checked his eye dilation, and was pleased to find that they were perfectly responsive. "That's it."

"I'm going to have to use dittany, but I don't have any pain reducing potions on me," Hermione explained to Regulus in a soft tone. "Drink this," she said as she held out a half bottle of whiskey. "It'll dull the pain." Regulus did as he was told and quickly took large gulps of the alcohol, grimacing as it burned his throat and he coughed.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked harshly, staring at the her rather suspiciously. Hermione ignored him and grabbed the dittany from her potions supplies.

"This may hurt a bit," Hermione explained and Regulus slowly nodded, staring up at the ceiling in anticipation.

Pouring only two drops of dittany on each wound. A sizzling sound followed as the skin melded back together. Regulus groaned from the pain and clenched his fists.

"What are you doing to him?!"Sirius cried stepping forward to try and help his brother but James stopped him. At the sound of Sirius' distress, Remus came into the room looking rather confused. "Do you even know what you're doing?"

Hermione sighed turned to him as Regulus quieted down. "Yes, I know what I'm doing, Sirius. That was dittany, I assume you know what it's used for?"

Sirius nodded and stayed quiet as Hermione turned back to Regulus who was still shaking from the amount of dittany she had to use.

"Deep breathes, Regulus," Hermione said as she ran a hand over his head to sooth him. "James, get me a wet cloth and cold water."

"Yes, boss," James said teasingly, and set off to complete his task.

"How do you feel?" Hermione asked.

Regulus slowly shrugged, the alcohol finally setting in, "Okay-ish."

Hermione chuckled and took the cloth from James. She dabbed at Regulus's sweaty face and laid it across his forehead.

"Do you feel any dizziness, nausea or headaches?"

Regulus shook his head.

"Very good." Hermione nodded. She gently grabbed his wrist and put two fingers there to check his pulse. "It's seems all good, but I know that those cuts will be sore for a few days."

"How would you know that?" James piped up.

"From experience," Hermione said nonchalantly as she grabbed the Burning Bitterroot Balm and carefully rubbed it on each of the cuts. "There, you should be fit as a fiddle in a few days."

"A fiddle?" Regulus said, trying to sit up.

"Muggle thing," She said as she pushed him back down. "You can't get up yet, you need rest. I would give you a Drowsiness Draught, but we aren't safe yet."

Regulus nodded and fought off a yawn.

"We need to find Draco," Hermione said. "We have to get back to the castle." She wrung her hands and then turned to James and Remus.

"Can you grab my jacket, James? There's a small coin in the left pocket, it looks like a Galleon. Rub it twice counter-clock wise." Hermione said before she turned to Remus. "I need you to keep an eye on the door, we need to make sure that anybody about to come through is friendly." The boys nodded and set off.

"Regulus, stay awake," Hermione pleaded, "I can't have you fall asleep yet."

Regulus nodded, but yawned. "Sorry," he muttered "I just feel really tired."

"I know. You're exhausted from what happened, in a bit, I'll give you a Pepper Up. The other potions I already gave you have to settle first." Hermione explained. "Sirius? Can you look after Regulus while I look for some food for him?"

Sirius nodded silently and sat awkwardly by his brother. Hermione flashed them both a smile and hurried to the back of the pub where the kitchen was.

"Who are you?" A deep voice said. Hermione turned to find a wand pointed at her. A large man was standing in front of a group of three or four girls, seeming to try and protect them.

"Hermione, I'm a student at Hogwarts," she said quickly and with a smile. "I need some bread or crackers and some juice. A friend of mine lost a lot of blood."

The man nodded, but still held a tight grip on his wand. "There," he said, pointing to the small pantry. "Bread and juice are in there."

"Thanks," Hermione said as she ran and grabbed an entire loaf, a glass and poured out some of the juice. She smiled at the man and the girls as she hurried back to Regulus.

"Drink this," Hermione commanded as she tilted the juice to Regulus's lips. He did as she told him to and slowly drank the juice until the cup was empty. "Now, eat these. Slowly, mind you."

Regulus, not having the energy to speak, nodded and took the bread from her hand.

Draco came flying in through the door only pausing when James lifted his wand in response. They eyed each other before James dropped his wand.

"You called, Granger?" Draco asked as he came to stand next to her. She looked him over, silently checking for any injuries. There was a rather large gash on the side of his head and his left arm seemed rather swollen, but it didn't look like there was anything life threatening.

"Ah yes," Hermione said, coming back to reality and guiding Draco to a chair. She quickly set to work as she spoke. "We have to start to head up to the Castle, I'm not sure if Dumbledore knows about this yet, he should by now and we have to get Regulus to Madam Pomfrey."

"Sure thing, let's go," Draco said.

"Not until I heal you first, if that head wound keeps bleeding and isn't treated you can either catch infections or bleed out." Hermione said solemnly.

"You're the expert," Draco said with a shrug as he let her poke and prod him.

Hermione quickly finished up her work. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. She quickly packed her things away and turned to James.

"Get a few bottles of whiskey, Regulus is going to need more," Hermione said. "And get Peter down here, we're leaving. And find Severus."

"How many bottles?" Sirius called from behind the bar.

"Three."

"Three?!" Sirius exclaimed. "He'll be completely pissed!"

"Not all of them are for him. After today, I think I'll need some," Hermione said and shot him a smile.

oOo

With everybody in the bar ready to leave, Hermione pulled the two stunned Death Eaters up and tied them to the staircase. With the charmed rope she used, they wouldn't be getting out of them until the Aurors found them. James had found Severus battling another Death Eater just outside the back door, blood dripping from his stomach which was caused by several nasty cuts. He was easier to heal than Regulus and with just a simple charm, he was good as new, except for the scars.

Today they had all gotten scars. Some of them physical but for the Marauders, who didn't fight as much, they were mental. The knowledge that the evil they were facing was all too real. Before, it had just been clippings in the _Daily Prophet_ , but now they had seen it first hand, the damage these people could do. And it scared them. Oh, did it scare them. Many of them now realized how serious this all was, how hauntingly close they came to death today. How they needed to treasure what they have before it's taken from them. Those were the scars they got, and sometimes, they are the scariest ones of all.

oOo

"C'mon, this way," Hermione said as she pushed brush out of her face. They had elected to take the forest up to the school, trying to stay out of sight. Regulus was half-naked on Draco's back he hoisted him upward. "Move, quietly!"

"Are we even going the right way?" Peter asked, frowning.

"Yes," Hermione said as they came to a clearing. In the distance, on the cliff, Hogwarts sat tall and it seemed to be a hundred miles away. "We'll be there shortly."

"It looks so far!" Sirius exclaimed. "I can't go that far, I'm already dead on my feet."

"We'll be happy to leave you behind," Severus remarked.

"If anyone's gonna be left behind, its you, Snivellus," Sirius spat.

"Hey, both of you, quit it!" Hermione snapped. "Draco set Regulus down, lets all take a break." Draco nodded and slowly set Regulus on the soft grass. "James, get me a bottle."

James reached into his transfigured shoulder bag and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He handed it to Hermione and reshouldered the bag. Hermione quickly uncorked it and held it to Regulus's lips.

"Take small sips," Hermione said. Regulus nodded as all the alcohol he already had started to take effect.

As Regulus was sipping his whiskey Hermione thought quickly. "This isn't working! Can you summon your brooms?" They nodded and did a quick _accio_ charm. In a matter of minutes, five brooms came whistling through the air to the group. Each boy, except for Severus, caught this broom in their hand and gave Hermione a smile. "Draco, give me your broom, go with James. Sirius, you take Regulus, Severus with me."

Sirius eyed James suspiciously as he mounted the broom and wrapped his arms around Hermione.

They all took off simultaneously and headed for Hogwarts.

The wind was rather chilly and it fluttered through their clothes and chilled their noses. As they soared through the sky, they could see the carnage that was happening just below them. Flashing colors lit the ground below them, outlining figures in the dark school robes. Screams pierced the air, causing the hair to stand up on their arms and shivers to run down their backs. When they finally reached school grounds, the screams and yelling fainted into the background, barely audible over the wind. When the group landed near the entrance to Hogwarts, professors came running out of the front door, all talking fast.

"A Death Eater attack! In broad daylight!" Professor Sprout tittered nervously. "Unthinkable!"

"These are hard times, Pomona," Professor McGonagall said wisely. "We all must take precautions."

"The Aurors have been alerted, haven't they, Minerva?" Professor Flitwick asked as he worked twice as hard to keep up with the taller witches.

"Yes, of course they have," McGonagall said quickly as she spotted the group and a rather tipsy Regulus.

"Professors!" Hermione exclaimed.

Professor McGonagall rushed over ready to scold Regulus for his drunkeness when she saw Hermione's worried expression.

"What is it, Miss Granger?"

"It's Regulus, he was attacked and hurt pretty bad. I managed to patch him up and we gave him whiskey for the pain, but he needs to see Madame Pomfrey immediately." McGonagall nodded and told Pomona to levitate the Slytherin to the hospital wing. "It's a mess down there, Professor."

"I imagine so," McGonagall said. "Go to the hospital wing to get looked over and then go to your dormitories. I'm afraid there will be many injured and classes will be canceled for tomorrow."

"But we can help!" James protested. "We were just down there! We can't leave them all behind, the others are still fighting! We have to go-"

"You will do no such thing!" McGonagall exclaimed loudly. "I will not put you in danger when I am able to protect you. I am your Professor, I am responsible for your safety while you are here at Hogwarts!"

"But Professor-" Sirius pleaded.

"No buts!" McGonagall interrupted. "Off to the hospital wing. Now!"

"C'mon," Hermione ushered. "You can't argue with Professor McGonagall."

James sighed but trudged unhappily behind Hermione.


	8. The Aftermath

Wounded were being levitated into the Great Hall by the dozens. Those who hadn't gotten hurt were pressing spare cloths and shirts on the wounded and muttering incoherent words of comfort. Hermione and the others could only stand by and watch with an overwhelming feeling of helplessness. Madam Pomfrey had taken Severus and Regulus to the extensive care area, now the Great hall, while Professor Sprout had given the others a quick, but thorough, once over. She had found no serious damage, only minor cuts and bruises and had sent them off to the side, and out of the way.

Hermione and Draco were pacing nervously, not being able to do anything made them frustrated. The professors doubted their abilities and treated them the same as first years. It annoyed Hermione that she could do anything to help, she was stuck on the sidelines just watching! Hermione fiddled with her wand and twirled it between her fingers idly. Watching the doors and scanning the room, she did the only thing she could at the time, make sure no Death Eater got into the room undetected.

James and Sirius sat on the stone floor shoulder to shoulder and watched the two pacing. They noticed all the little cues of a soldier and that of someone who was on edge. As they studied Hermione's behavior, the more they became suspicious. For someone their age, they shouldn't be knowing all of those techniques, she acted like an auror for Merlins sake!

"She's getting more and more anxious, James," Sirius whispered as his eyes followed Hermione and Draco pacing.

"I can see that," James replied sarcastically. "Did you see they way she fought?"

Sirius nodded. "They both fight exceptionally well, they're probably the best of our year. I don't understand how they could have learned half of the techniques that they know. Most of it is auror level material."

James sighed. "I only recognize it because of Father, he showed me a move or two but I still haven't been able to master them."

"Mother and Father have been tried to train me for years in Dark Magic and strategies, but with all that training, I'm still not as good as Hermione and Draco," Sirius muttered. "It's suspicious, don't you think?"

"I suppose so, they way they are so, so _comfortable_ on the battlefield. It's kind of disgusting," James muttered with an upturned lip.

"It's like they enjoy it," Sirius retorted.

"Where would they learn all of this anyway?"

"I wouldn't know," Sirius shook his head. "What about their parents? We don't know anything about them, do we?"

"Other than the fact that they let the two come to Hogwarts for their last year, then no, we know nothing," James shrugged.

"They could be Death Eaters!" Sirius mock whispered.

James nodded, eyes wide. "It's possible, we don't know much about them personally. Who would even come to a new school in their last year, anyway?"

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know, but we should keep a closer eye on them. Ya know, just in case."

"Agreed."

oOo

The news of the Hogsmeade attack traveled quickly through the Wizarding World and the level of paranoia of Ministry's subjects were increasing. Many of these people had increased their security on their homes and businesses for fear of being the victims of another Death Eater attack. Hogwarts on the other hand, was picking up business as usual. Students were returning to classes, although the worst patients were still in the infirmary, but none were too serious. What concerned most, was the lack of response from Hogwarts and it's staff. No new security was added for the students protection, but the professors were on guard at all times. The Daily Prophet was having a wonderful time printing the news of the Hogsmeade attack and the lack of security at the school.

"Look at this rubbish!" Sirius exclaimed. "They actually have the gall to publish this!"

 _Is Security Lacking?_

 _After the atrocious attacks of our beloved village Hogsmeade, which sits right by our most famous school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, many other institutes have increased their security measures for the safety of their students and staff. Only, Hogwarts has not done so! This school has fallen back into their same routine after these attacks with no new security! Many believe that the school has in fact lost it's top spot since Albus Dumbledore has taken the position as Headmaster back in 1956. A member of the Board of Governors for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has assured the_ Daily Prophet _that there is no reason to up the security measures as the security is already top notch. "Hogwarts has had impenetrable security for the last twenty years! There is no need to create more work for this school when it isn't needed. Hogsmeade was targeted not Hogwarts," Board of Governors member Ashburn Wilis told the_ Daily Prophet _. Headmaster Dumbledore was unable to comment at this time._

 _Article by: Aldo Woodron_

 _How to protect yourselves from Death Eaters - page 3_

 _A short history of Hogwarts and Albus Dumbledore - page 7_

"It's ludicrous," Remus sighed and shook his head. "Dumbledore wouldn't do anything to put his students in direct danger."

Hermione and Draco gave each other a knowing look, sharing the same thought. Harry. They both knew that Dumbledore would sacrifice one for the worth of many. Sighing Hermione continued to eat her breakfast in peace as the others argued over the paper.

"I agree with the Prophet!" Lily argued. "Why isn't the school upping the security measures? I don't want to have to keep an eye on all the shadows in the hall as I go to class! What are we going to do, forget about it and go back to class like nothing happened? We need to protect ourselves."

"The thing is, we don't _need_ any more security! There isn't more to give! We have the most impenetrable wards since the times of Merlin and nobody can get in or out without the Headmasters approval." James retorted.

"I suppose so," Lily muttered. "But I would just feel safer if they did something!"

"I understand, Lils, really," James said with a small smile. "We are all a little nervous."

"Only a few more days for classes," Remus said, calming everybody with his sensible words, "then we can have the weekend to relax and try to figure out how to get through this."

"I hope you're right, Moony," Sirius said frowning. "I think everybody could use a little _relaxation_." Sirius said knowingly and made a point to look at Remus and James. The three glanced at each other and slightly nodded. Lily didn't notice anything, but Draco and Hermione saw the movement smirked at each other. They were going to play a prank.

oOo

Hermione hummed to herself as she finished the last sentence for her essay. Class had finished for the week and it was a bright Saturday morning. The birds were chirping and the breeze was warm giving off a positive vibe. This weather was what the students needed. Their spirits rose and finally there was the sound of laughter in the Great Hall. Students were smiling again and working to move on from the scars that were left from the battle.

The Marauders had a hand in it as well. Hermione and Draco had been right, they did, in fact, play a prank, but it was a wonderful, much needed one. For the past three days, the Great Hall had been turned into a grassy meadow with singing birds and a small stream that led nowhere. Instead of house tables, there were picnic blankets with house colors spread out randomly with matching colorful cushions for seats. The initial reaction had been shock, but when the students found the Headmaster on his own yellow blanket eating treacle tart without a care in the world, the rest of the student population warily walked in, afraid it would all vanish. This had helped to increase the mood of the students and they had all felt more relaxed. Nobody knew for certain who had done it, though many suspected the Marauders, and nobody did a thing to fix it.

Currently, Hermione and Draco were holed up in the library, finishing the small amount of homework the professors had assigned. The only problem was that they were unable to focus on their work, the thoughts of Death Eaters flittered through their head enabling them unable to focus.

"Why now?" Hermione muttered. "Why would they attack now?"

"I'm not sure," Draco sighed. "Maybe they found it an opportunity?"

"I suppose but I don't recall any newspaper articles about the attack," Hermione whispered as she put all her books and parchment into her satchel.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in _our_ past, the future, whatever, when the we were still at Hogwarts I had researched everything about the First Wizarding War and I had found tons of articles about attacks and Death Eater sightings. There were so many that I kept notes about it; I remember information about each once, at least the major ones that centered in important areas, which would be attacks in either Muggle London of high casualties or attacks near Hogwarts but I don't remember anything about a Hogsmeade attack this year," Hermione explained with concern.

Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I think we've already changed history, Hermione."

"Shit," Hermione muttered and sighed. "We've got to be more careful."

"Hermione," Draco said carefully, "just being here changes the time stream. We were never meant to be here, our presence changes the way and order that things originally happened."

Hermione frowned. "I'm just worried that we are all unprepared."

Draco hummed in agreement.

Picking up their bags, they both grabbed their textbooks and went to leave the library.

"That's why we trained. We've been training since our first year," Draco stated as they walked.

"I'm a bit rusty though," Hermione said with a smirk.

"Then we should get some training in," Draco drawled.

"Tonight? Room of Requirement?" Hermione suggested.

"Sounds good," Draco smiled.

"Fantastic. We need to brush up on our techniques. They're getting a little sloppy," Hermione said.

"Really, I didn't notice," said Draco. "I was as good as ever."

"Don't be a pompous brat, Draco, it doesn't suit you," Hermione teased with a small smile.

Draco smirked but didn't reply.

At last, they both reached the Gryffindor Tower, said the password -Hippogriff- and entered the common room. The Marauders were there; Sirius was on the arm chair with Remus lounging on the floor in front of him, Peter was sitting in the other armchair, Transfiguration book out on his lap. James was sitting on the couch and Lily was sitting with him, but a little closer than usual. Hermione glanced at Draco with a small smile. There was little good that came out of the Hogmeade attack, but there was one thing; James and Lily were now speaking to each other (without bickering) and, at least, friends. Amazing what life and death situations could do.

oOo

The day had progressed on slowly, Remus becoming ever more irritable as it did. The full moon was coming out to play, and so was the werewolf. Hermione had to give him credit, he hid it very well, at least those with an untrained eye. He took plenty of Calming Draughts, which one would not have noticed unless his satchel hadn't have emptied across the Common Room floor. Unfortunately, Calming Draughts only helped so much, the anger and need of a werewolf slowly coming to the forefront of the mind was a lot to try and control, even with the help of potions. Remus had stayed quieter than he had before, hoping that in staying out of conversations, he wouldn't snap unnecessarily at anyone. Remus did his best, though he did glare at a few first years in a very un-Remus like fashion after they had only bumbled passed him. Hermione hoped that her work with Severus on the Wolfsbane potion would be completed soon, as it would help to make this all a little more bearable for Remus, or any werewolf for that matter.

With the day finally over, and dinner to be held in only a few hours, Hermione and Draco made their way to the Room of Requirement, training gear on and wands in their respective holsters. They walked in silence, both checking each corners they came up to and all the niches for anybody hiding. It was an old habit but it had certainly kept them alive a few times. Stepping in front of the wall on the Seventh floor, Hermione paced three times.

 _We need a place to train… We need a place to train… We need a place to train…_

A large brown door slowly appeared, getting bigger in size until they were able to enter. The Room of Requirement had chosen an area similar to that the D.A. had used in fifth year. The room was made of stone, but as one walked on the floor, it was clear that there was some sort of cushioning charm placed upon it. The walls were lined with large wooden bookcases, but there were no tables or chairs in sight to use. Instead, there were rather large cushions placed haphazardly on the floor. Breaking apart the book casing, there was a metal rack, shining in the torchlight. The rack proudly showed multiple knives, bows, and swords. On the far wall there was a set of shelving that held various tools that included Secrecy Sensors, Sneakoscopes and a range of Dark Detectors. Old herbs that ward off evil in the time of Old Magick were hung on the wall above the shelving, and giving off a very salty sweet scent.

"This will have to do," Draco said grimly. Hermione snorted.

"This is almost exactly like the room the D.A. used in fifth year," Hermione said as she looked around.

"Dumbledore's Army?" Draco asked as he inspected the weaponry.

"Yes," Hermione nodded as she read the titles of the books. _Conjuring Proper Spells… Spellwork for the Wicked… Wandlore and Its Secrets… Defensive Spells Volume I & II… How to Stop Dark Magic… How to Counteract Curses… Dark Magic Origins…_

"These books are amazing," Hermione muttered, barely audible.

"Mmm," Draco hummed. "The Manor had a room similar to this, only it wasn't as warm. There was barely any light, if I remember correctly, and it had seemed so… so cold."

Hermione glanced at the blonde. It was hard for him to talk about his parents, considering what his father had done.

"Before Hogwarts, Father would take me into the room and teach me as much as he could about Dark Magic and the possibilities and power it could give someone. I had always thought that it would be an ally because of his teachings."

Draco sighed and turned to face her.

"It wasn't until he murdered Mother did I realize what Dark Magic was capable of doing. It destroys your soul, Hermione. It literally takes over your being, your heart and mind. It's like a drug, you use it and you can never get away from it."

Hermione frowned but remained silent. Draco was fighting an internal battle, a fight between his childhood admiration and love for his Father and the knowledge of what he had done.

"None of it is your fault," Hermione said, placing a hand on his arm in comfort.

"I-" Draco sighed. "I know. I find that I blame myself for not being able to stop him from doing it. I feel responsible in a way. I should have done something! All it would have taken is a simple disarming charm!"

"Draco, do not blame yourself!" Hermione said in a righteous tone. "Your mother loved you very much, even I could tell. She wouldn't want you to blame yourself. She doesn't blame you, I'm sure of it. The only person at fault is Lucius. Do you understand?"

Draco remained silent, but nodded.

"Good," Hermione said with a nod. She gave his arm a quick squeeze before going back to the bookshelf. "I'm going to do some reading on these, maybe take some notes, then we can ask the Room for some practice dummies."

"Sounds fine to me," Draco said.

Hermione gave him one last smile before picking up _Old Magick Incantations_ and relaxing on a few silk cushions and started to read.

oOo

Hermione and Draco were half an hour late to dinner. It wasn't like the two Gryffindors to be late, they were always made a point to be punctual.

Remus shifted uneasily on the bench and glanced once more at the doors.

"Stop worrying, Remus," Lily said as she ate. "I'm sure they're in the library. Probably just forgot the time."

"Or they are doing _other unspeakable things_ ," Sirius snorted, then glanced at James.

Lily made an indignant sound and smacked Sirius' arm.

"Hardly!" she said in a high-pitched tone, full of righteous defense for her friend.

Remus shook his head but continued to glance at the door every couple of minutes.

"Remus, serious," James pushed up his glasses and brushed a strand of black hair out of his eyes, "if they don't turn up by the end of dinner, we'll go looking for them, all right?"

"It's just not like them, and you know that," Remus insisted.

"What if Death Eaters had gotten to them?" Peter squeaked, his eyes unnecessarily wide with glimmering innocence and fear.

Everyone stopped eating and looked at Peter who continued to nibble on his dinner.

"Don't be silly, Pete," James said with a nervous chuckle. "If there were Death Eaters on the school grounds, Dumbledore would know about it. We wouldn't even be here right now."

"Yes, but what if we didn't. If it could happen at Hogsmeade why not here?"

"Peter, really, we'd know if there are Death Eaters here," Sirius pressed further.

"He's got a point you know," Lily said, clasping her hands together. "If an attack could happen in Hogsmeade, in broad daylight at that, then why is it such a crazy idea that it could also happen here?"

James frowned. "Hogwarts has the best defenses since the age of Merlin, they are impenetrable. It's impossible to force your way into Hogwarts!"

"Not impossible, James, nothing is." Remus pointed out. "Yet, it is highly unlikely that anything of that magnitude could happen, and if it did, the defenses would allow ample time for students to be evacuated."

"Memorize that did you, Moony?" Sirius chuckled. "You're a walking textbook."

Footsteps could be heard in the hall, and Remus turned to the doors. He breathed a sigh of relief when Hermione and Draco entered, they looked a bit disheveled, but maybe they had run here?

"Sorry we're late," Hermione said as they slipped on the benches, "we were reading in the library and lost track of the time. Had to run here if we didn't want to miss dinner."

Remus glanced at them and took a subtle deep breath. They smelt musty, like they had, indeed, been around old books for some time, but it wasn't the smell of the library. There was a hint of perspiration, but it was masked by a different scent, a cleaner one, almost like they had cast a _scourgify_ of their clothes, but not on themselves. Hermione's hair was large, resembling a lion's mane. The brown curls were wound so tight that it was almost humorous. Draco on the other hand, had perfectly kept hair, the blonde shining in the torchlight.

"So what's the topic of discussion?" Draco asked as he quickly piled food on his plate.

"Hogwarts defenses from attackers," Lily said.

"Oh?" Hermione hummed. "Dinner discussions haven't been this serious."

"Yes, well." James cleared his throat. "Peter was discussing the idea that if Hogsmeade could be attacked why not Hogwarts as well."

"Of course Hogwarts can be attacked, the defenses are not perfect." Hermione said matter of factly.

"That's pretty much what Remus said," Sirius pointed out.

Hermione nodded. "It's hard to think that we could he under attack here some day, but with the war, it is entirely possible. The wards would hold for some time, probably enough time to get most students out of the school, the youngest perhaps, but Hogwarts is not untouchable."

"That's very gloomy, thanks, Hermione," Draco muttered with a frown.

"It's the truth, Draco and you know it," Hermione countered.

"It's a horrible thing to even think about, but Hermione's right, with the war, anything's possible and we should be prepared for it," Remus said.

"On that ominous note, I am headed for bed," Lily said, I'll probably see you back at the Common Room.

"Same here, Goodnight," Hermione told the group and left with Lily.

"We should all be headed for bed," James said, "we can do some homework beforehand, though."

Draco nodded and grabbed his satchel from the floor. Following the Marauders out of the Great Hall, they headed off to the Common Room for the night.

A/N:

So so sorry! I took forever to update!

I had such a busy school schedule and then I had exams and on top of that I started my job with the National Park Service, so it has been a very hectic summer so far! I will try to update again before September, but I can't make any promises, my time is so limited right now! I also have a bit of a writers block, but I will continue with this story, I promise!


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